From one Queen to another.
Beyoncé honored the late Tina Turner â who died last week at age 83 â with an emotional performance of “River Deep, Mountain High” during her “Renaissance” world tour stop in London Monday.
The “Cuff It” singer belted out the lyrics to the 1996 hit in a slower tempo as she stood in front of the sold-out crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, according to a video shared by a Beyoncé fan account on Twitter.
For the special performance, Beyoncé also debuted a new look, wearing an electric blue jumpsuit that bulged at the waist into a sheer train.
The 32-time Grammy winner’s tribute comes just days after she honored the “Proud Mary” singer during her tour stop in Paris, telling the audience to âscream so [Turner] can feel your love.â
Beyoncé pays homage to the late, great Tina Turner in #London, with a performance of âRiver Deep, Mountain High.âðï¸ https://t.co/gQt79tz5wy #RWT2023 pic.twitter.com/Dt07Ft3OW7
— BEYONCÃ LEGION (@BeyLegion) May 29, 2023
âIf youâre a fan of mine, youâre a fan of Tina Turner,â she continued. ââCause I wouldnât be on this stage without Tina Turner.â
âI feel so blessed that I was alive to witness her brilliance. I also feel very blessed to be here to perform once again.â
Turner died on May 24 of natural causes. She was 83 years old.
Her rep previously disclosed that the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll had been battling a âlong illnessâ but did not disclose further details.
After news surfaced of Tina’s passing, fans slammed Beyoncé and her husband, Jay-Z, for previously making a “mockery” of the late singer’s history of physical abuse from ex-husband Ike Turner.
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In the Carters’ 2013 hit “Drunk In Love,” Jay-Z raps, âBeat the box up, like Mike in â97, I bite / Iâm Ike Turner, turn up baby, no, I donât play / Baby, no, I donât play, now eat the cake, Anna Mae / Said eat the cake, Anna Mae!”
The cake lyric was reportedly in reference to a dispute Ike once had with Tina â whose birth name was Anna Mae Bullock â over a pastry.
“Beyoncé putting up a Tina Turner post/tribute when she literally said, ‘Eat the cake Anna Mae’ on one of her biggest songs is wild,” tweeted one critic.
“knowing that Tina Turner was Beyoncéâs blueprint and one of her biggest influences makes that ‘Eat The Cake Anna Mae’ line in Drunk In Love even more jarring,” added another.
“All you need to do is watch ‘What’s Love got To Do With It’ to see where Jay Z got the ‘eat the cake, Anna Mae’ reference and thatâll make you sick to your stomach. Beyoncé was complicit because it was on HER song,” wrote a third.
A month after Beyoncé released “Drunk in Love,” a British radio station refused to play the unedited version of the track. Jennifer Ogole, CEO of Bang Radio, had the “4:44” rapper’s “Anna Mae” line removed because the rap displayed a “promotion of domestic violence against women.”
When Tina was asked about the song, she told the New York Times in 2019 that she was ânot surprised.â
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